Marilena Koppa

Marilena Koppa was born in Athens on March 1, 1963. She studied law in Athens and political science in Paris, where she earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from the University of Paris-X Nanterre. Her dissertation focused on "The Formation of Party Systems in the Balkans in the 19th-20th Century: Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece." She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International and European Studies at Panteion University and served as a researcher at the Institute of International and European Affairs at the same university from 1992 to 1997. Her research interests include minority issues in the Balkans, transition and democratization challenges in the region, nationalism, and interethnic relations. She has authored several books, including "A Fragile Democracy: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Between Past and Future," Papazisis Publishing, Athens, 1994; "Minorities in Post-Communist Balkans: Central Policies and Minority Responses," Livanis Publishing, Athens, 1997; and "The Formation of States in the Balkans: 19th Century," Livanis Publishing, Athens, 2002, as well as a series of articles on Balkan politics. She served as a regular member of the National Council of Foreign Policy (NCFP) as a representative of PASOK from 2003 to 2007 and was appointed an alternate member in January 2008. She has been both president and vice-president of the Institute of Developmental and Strategic Studies "Andreas Papandreou" (ISTAME) and was appointed a board member of the foundation in February 2008. At the PASOK Congress held from March 3-6, 2005, she was elected a member of the National Council and subsequently twice a member of the Political Council. In October 2007, she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament with PASOK and in November of the same year, she became vice-chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee of the European Parliament. She is also a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defense, and an alternate member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Subcommittee on Human Rights, and the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.